Take your time
by Melodysouth65
Summary: "You have to take your time with Louie". Della repeated the conversation in her head over and over and over again, "Louie is different. You have to take your time with Louie". Della takes Louie on their first adventure together and it sadly doesn't end well. (Mother and son bonding)


"You have to take your time with Louie".

Della repeated the conversation in her head over and over and over again "Louie is different. You have to take your time with Louie".

Della asked Donald what to do and all he said was "You have to take your time with Louie". She asked Scrooge and he said "You have to take your time with Louie."

Della desired a relationship with her son, she wanted to take him on adventures and teach him all she knew, she wanted a relationship with all her sons. She wants to be the mom they need and they deserve.

It's true, Louie was very different from Huey and Dewey, they were so excited when she got back, they practically pushed her to the ground, so excited to see her, it melted her heart.

Louie reacted very differently, though he seemed he was happy to see her actually no, the better word was scared, he couldn't believe it was really her, almost as if he wouldn't believe it.

Louie was the baby. She assumed he would be most excited to see her. Was he shy? Anxious? Whatever it was, she could handle it. She could handle anything.

Then hearing him talk to the rest of the family was harder.

_"She's our mom! Right Louie?"_

"_Right_?"

"_Well_-"

Everyone gasped hearing him say that. How could he deny her being their mother?

_"Hey don't get me wrong, of course I'm happy to have mom back-"_

"_But_?"

_"But I don't know, it's probably my fault. I've gone so long without a mom, I guess I don't really know how to have one."_

She could understand that. It's a lot to handle growing up without her and all of a sudden she just comes back but how could he think it was his fault? It wasn't his fault, it was her fault. It was always her fault and there was nothing he could've done to change that. It wasn't his fault, he has every right to be upset with her, but he wasn't mad at her. Why wasn't he mad at her?

She tried to listen to Donald and take her time, she tried, but he just wouldn't come to her. She can't just let Louie believe that she won't make that effort herself.

She needed to push a little harder, Louie needed to be pushed, he needs something that would be fun and practical. He needs adventure!

"Kids pack yer gear, you too Louie, we're going on a adventure!"Della said in her Scrooge impression

"Awesome! Where are we going?"Dewey asked.

"Uhhhh we're going to the forbidden temple of toth ra"She said.

"Uh mom we've already been there"Dewey said.

"Uhh Mt neverist?"She suggested.

"Done that".

"Oh come on!"

Huey tried to help, he's always been a people pleaser "Well I'm sure there's something-"

"Pack yer gear kids, we're going to Africa!"Scrooge said.

What?"

"Africa?"Huey asked.

Scrooge pulled out the map and explained "The Storkfountain cave, home of the spear of aqua legend has it the spear brought forth water from the sky. The-

Oh please" Louie said "It was just rain, we all know water didn't come out of the spear, there's no worth to it besides a story".

Scrooge sighed "It's made of gold".

"Ok never mind continue".

"The people believed this to be a magic spear and kept it hidden from anyone who might try and steal it. Many explorers have tried to find it and have failed miserably-"

"Until today!"Dewey shouted "Not while Della and Dewey are on the case, adventure around every corner, they laugh in the face of danger, nothing can stop them even when the horrors of their enemies besiege them even when the spirits rise up against them even when-"

"Dewey! You realize Louie and I will be there too right?"Huey asked.

"Oh yeah, you too."

"My first adventure with all my boys. I'm so excited!"

Louie wasn't. He was terrified. This happened so soon, too soon, he can't do this, what if Della finds out who he really was? He can't let that happen. He had to put on an act until they got back.

They left for Africa first thing the next morning, everyone loaded their gear in the plane, Dewey immediately called dibs on the co-pilot seat next to Della.

"Dewey you were sitting there last time"Della said, in the nicest way possible. "Louie wouldn't you like a turn sitting up front?"

Louie shook his head "Nope, it's a lot safer over here in case of a crash".

"Oh honey we're not going to crash"She said.

"I know and I'm definitely not worried about that but I'd be much more comfortable"He said.

"Oh ok, no problem."

The plane was shaking and dodging and gliding and any other Dr Seuss verbs you could possibly think of "See I told you, she's even more reckless then launchpad"Huey said, he had adventured with Della before, let's just say he had a few safety tips and constructive criticism for flying the plane.

"I didn't even think that was possible!"Louie said, clearly he made the right choice sitting in the back.

"Why do ye think I hired him?"Scrooge asked.

"What happened to launchpad anyway?"Huey asked.

"He ye, moved on, he had a new opportunity in st canard."

"Forget him we're better off"Della was deeply concerned about being replaced especially after seeing launchpads picture in the houseboat.

"You know mom turbulence is caused by flying through the clouds".

"I know that's what makes it fun!"She said driving through yet another cloud.

"Aahhh"

"Now I know why it's called the cloud slayer"Huey said.

"So Louie, this is our first adventure together and you have barely said a word, aren't you excited?"

"Oh uhh yeah I guess-"

"Why wouldn't he be excited?"Dewey asked "An adventure with the legendary Della duck? This is going to be amazing!"

"Ok tiger stay in your seat. The thing about adventuring, it may be exciting but you have to stay cool, collected and observant. Otherwise you could miss something important."

"I taught you that"Scrooge said.

"Of course, you taught me everything".

"Except how to fly a plane I hope"Huey said.

"Oh come on Huey live a little. Adventure is about excitement and living life to its fullest".

"Wait...you tell Huey to take risks and tell Dewey to be careful?"Louie asked.

"Well different kids therefore different lessons"She said "You need a good mix of both."

"Mix of adventure and cautiousness or mix of Huey and Dewey?"

"Mhmm".

They landed safely. That's at least one thing Della had over launchpad. They set up camp quickly near the village and they were on their way. They hiked the mountain where the cave was located, Scrooge said it would be an even longer hike as they got inside. Louie was practically out of breath just climbing the mountain itself.

"Come on Louie, you can't possibly be tired yet"Della said jokingly.

"No, I'm fine. Let's to adventure and all that"He said out of breath. He lied, he was tired and his leg hurt. But he couldn't admit that he didn't think he could (or didn't want to) do this. Della was so excited about adventuring with him, he owed it to her.

"That's the spirit!"She replied.

They walked into the cave. It was cold and the air was very stuffy, it was almost difficult to breathe. It was beautiful though. Louie was trying to be extremely careful not to set off any boobytraps, though he knew this would probably end poorly no matter what he did.

Then he heard a slight 'crack'

And a "oops" and he definitely knew he was right.

Arrows shot out the walls, trap doors sprung from nowhere, snakes fell from the ceiling and so forth. That should've been the end but Louie knew that nobody learned a lesson yet so that means there's worse to come.

There were two different openings ahead.

"Welp it looks like we need to split up"Della said.

Louie resisted "Split up? No no no no no No! Every single time someone says that, something bad happens! So Uncle Scrooge, what should we do?"

"I was goin'te suggest we split up"He said.

"Oh boy"Louie face palmed.

So they split up, Dewey and Scrooge went left, Huey, Louie and Della went right. Louie would normally go with Scrooge but he insisted Dewey goes with him, and Louie always felt safer with Huey. It's just if something were to happen, Huey would have the solution.

"So Louie, what's your favorite sport?"Della asked.

Louie was starting to panic, he doesn't have one, what if Della finds out that he's just lazy?

"Hold on"Huey said, there was a trap in front of them.

was a certain pattern that had to be followed Huey and Della both being incredibly clever figured it out right away "ok so take two steps forward, three steps right, one step back then five foreword, one back, two forward, back again and once more"Della said.

Huey nailed it at the first try, as did Della, Louie's heart started to pound, his head started to spin, he's never been this anxious before, he didn't want to mess this up, Della is watching, she'll be so disappointed if he messed this up.

"Are you ok Louie?"Della asked.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine-"

He didn't do it perfectly but he made it across, every time he got a step wrong a needle punctured his foot, so Louie was literally walking on pins and needles for his mom just to impress her. She kept asking if his feet hurt too much because they did bleed a little but he kept saying he was fine.

Huey could tell there was seriously something wrong with him, he looked sick, he barely talked and when he did he hesitated like it was a math quiz, he kept his hands in his pockets (which wasn't completely off but it also was a normal sign of anxiety) Huey wanted more then anything to help his brother. So when Della got a little further then them Huey asked Louie "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You've been acting...off, I just wanted to be sure".

"Yeah I'm fine"Louie said in a tone that told him 'He was not fine'.

There were multiple traps and obstacles they had to go through today but neither resulted as badly as this one:

There was a narrow trail that was beside a ditch, They were careful not to make any sudden movements but as the old saying goes what comes up must crash and burn..or is that just launchpad?

Louie's heart pounded even worse, he could barely see because he got so light headed, there was almost a fog blinding him because of it.

"Louie? Do you need help getting across?"Della asked.

"N-No I-I can get acro-"He couldn't even finish his sentence before an avalanche caused him to lose his balance and fall, He hit his head on a rock that caused his head to bleed, his head throbbed but his arm bleed the most, Louie was pretty sure he was done for. rocks fell overtop of Louie almost like a very small cave. He was ok but it still hurt. He wished he had just gone with Scrooge or stayed at home with uncle Donald.

Huey and Della climbed down in sheer panic hoping and praying he was ok. When they found him Della asked "Louie are you ok?"

He didn't answer, he was so scared and panicked, he couldn't move.

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of there, Huey go find Scrooge, he has a rope and he might be able to help me"She didn't want him to see her panic, she had to tell herself multiple times to stay calm, her boys are strong, Louie can handle this. There was a opening in the pile of rocks, enough for Louie to fit through "Louie?!"She called.

He couldn't do it, he couldn't, he started crying, he couldn't contain himself anymore, even if it meant crying in front of Della. He shouldn't have come here, he should've made up a excuse not to go. He was the worst adventurer and he knew that. He knew better and now Della will be disappointed in him forever. He was a failure.

"Honey it'll be ok"She said, honestly that was a huge relief to hear him, even if it was crying. Now she knew he was ok. His leg was under a large amount of rocks, if they were to move it the whole thing would collapse. "Ok Louie here's what we're going to do, take my hand, when I count to three pull your leg out and I'll pull you out".

Louie refused to take her hand, that sounded like a terrible idea.

"Louie you're going to have to trust me on this one ok?"

"No".

"Louie-"

"I don't even know who you are, why would I trust you?!"He yelled.

Her heart stopped...he wasn't wrong...she knew she couldn't take anything he said right now seriously, right now she needed to focus on getting him out of there, how can she make him trust her?

'You need to take your time with Louie '.

She took a deep breath "Louie honey please take my hand, I promise everything is going to be ok."

Louie didn't budge. He continued crying, and panicking, he couldn't think straight.

Della needed to soothe him and then she had an idea on how to calm him down, it wasn't the best idea but it was worth a shot.

She started singing:

"Look to the stars my darling baby boys

Life is strange and vast

Filled with wonders and joys

Face each new sun

With eyes clear and true

Unafraid of the unknown

Because I'll face it all with you"

Louie finally grabbed her hand.

"Ok...one...two...Three"She pulled him out while he got his foot unstuck. The whole pile of rocks collapsed after he got out, Della held him close, Louie continued crying in her shirt. She couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now, she tried her best to comfort him until Scrooge came back with rope. He's never experienced anything like that before, she's never experienced anything like that before.

After they got out of the cave, they got the first aid kit and had a doctor from the village help him, after realizing he needed stitches on his arm, he shook and teared up the whole time, he tried his best to be brave but he wasn't Huey or Dewey.

Afterward Della went to check on Louie "Hey buddy, how are you feeling?"She asked.

Louie knew he had to answer, he wasn't really sure what the parodical was, how he was supposed to act around Della, should he pretend to be absolutely fine like when he talks to Scrooge or his brothers? She already knew he was a fake. She already knew he was a failure. He wasn't even entirely sure why she talked to him. "I'm fine"He said in the most vague way possible.

Della smiled "Good".

But then again, he didn't want to ruin all the chances of having a relationship with her. He wanted that, he just didn't want it to be complicated.

"You know, I had stitches when I was younger too, it wasn't this bad but I remembered that it hurt". She expected Louie to say something but he didn't, "Louie..I wanted to apologize, for what happened back there."

Her? Apologies? For what? It wasn't her fault he was a failure.

"I shouldn't have pushed you to do something you didn't want to do. I guess I have a bad habit of rushing into something without thinking."

That's for sure.

"I promise I'll try harder to be more patient and take things slower. I'm just not use to this-"

She then looked at him for a second, Louie wasn't sure if she was waiting for him to accept her apology or give her one.

She smiled sadly and started to leave.

"You shouldn't be sorry"Louie said.

Della stopped and turned around.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who was putting this off for so long, I'm the one who wasn't being honest."

Della gave him a confused look "Honest about what?"

Here it comes. Della deserves to know the truth, it'll break her heart, she'll never love him, but she deserves to know "I- hate- adventures. I've never been good at it, honestly it makes me terrified. I'm not like you or Scrooge or Dewey or Huey. I'm a coward."

"Oh Louie.."She said, Louie looked away with tears running down his face then Della hugged him, this honestly surprised him.

"You never have to pretend to be something you're not to impress me. No matter what, I'll always love you."

He finally hugged her back, he started crying worse, Della even started to tear up.

After Louie had calmed down Della started to let go "Baby, look at me"She said, lifting his chin to face her "I want you to be completely honest with me from now on ok? I'll be more patient, if you be more honest. Alright?"

"I promise."


End file.
